


It's Thursday I'm in Love (With You)

by at_thezenith



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Babysitting, Coparenting, Disownment, Edinburgh, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Excellent Parenting, F/M, Family Bonding, Indian James Potter, Irish Lily Evans, M/M, Mild Angst, Mild Smut, Mostly Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pianist Sirius, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Tutoring, Vietnamese/French Sirius Black, Welsh Remus Lupin, date nights!, even if i hate remadora thank you jk, gratuitous seventies songs, i will hear no slander of tonks, i will stand by her until i die, i'm a sucker for that city, it takes a village to raise a kid, she deserves none of the hate she gets, the Black family is great at parenting as usual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-06-23 16:04:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19704763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/at_thezenith/pseuds/at_thezenith
Summary: Remus lives on the edge of a vague mental breakdown most of the time; juggling his courses, tutoring, and six month old son at the age of twenty really isn't doing great things for his blood pressure.Sirius is bored; law isn't doing it for him, impressing his family isn't doing it for him, and James' offer of a tutor to help him not get kicked out of university is certainly not doing it for him. In fact, Lupin is an arse and he vows never to see him again.The universe, controlled by whomsoever it may be, disagrees. (And so do James Potter and Lily Evans)





	1. Boys Don't Cry (Except at Four in the Morning)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mssr_moony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mssr_moony/gifts).



> hello hello! finally, something new that i've written (aside from stained glass) that i really like!
> 
> this is a birthday fic (happy birthday @mssr_moony, if you don't like this i'll kill you), and therefore, completely free of any heart-destroying angst, death, or major booboos that our beloved main characters can't deal with after a healthy dose of Talking It Out. even if they're two of the most emotionally stunted people ever to live. 
> 
> anyway, on to the fic! hope you enjoy it, and comments/kudos are appreciated :)

Remus' day began, as it usually did, at four in the morning.

“Hey, buddy, hey,” he said to his screaming baby son, flicking on the bedside light, “c’mon, let’s get you fed.”

Balancing Teddy on his hip, he tiptoed through the flat. It was redundant at this point – Lily had never been the heaviest sleeper, and she opened the door to her room, smiling sympathetically.

“Bad night?” she asked, yawning and leaning against the door frame.

“Yeah, think he misses Dora.” Remus turned on their kitchen light, digging out a bottle from the fridge. Teddy began to cry louder, and he groaned, putting the bottle on the side and bouncing him. “Hey, it’s alright. Shhh, Ted, it’s okay, it’s okay, you’ll get food in a sec. Lily,” he said, looking pleadingly at her, “please could you -"

“No problem,” she replied, grabbing the bottle and switching on the little bottle heater Remus had saved up for months to get. “Lucky you’ve got afternoon classes tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. Thanks for taking him to the crêche yesterday, by the way. You’re magic.”

Lily laughed, and handed him back the warm bottle. “You know it.”

Teddy finally quieted down as he was fed, and Remus breathed a sigh of relief. His son was a pretty easy baby, all things considered, but one of the only things he would scream about was breakfast. Once he was full, though, he was an absolute angel, much better than Remus could ever have hoped him to be. He was smiling and giggling already, and loved being around people, most of all Remus. Even with the stupidly early wakeup calls, he wouldn’t have traded Teddy for the world.

Finally, it seemed as if Teddy was ready to go back to sleep, and Remus traipsed back to his room, saying a quick “goodnight” to Lily, who was up and getting ready for her morning shift. He put Teddy to bed and then collapsed into his own, hoping he could get at least another two hours of shut-eye, maybe three if he was lucky.

His alarm clock rang out just under three hours later, just as Teddy was starting to get a little restless. Remus fed and changed him, then put Teddy down on his playmat for a few minutes, just until he got some blessed caffeine into his system. Placing his mug on the arm of their battered armchair, he squatted next to a giggling Teddy, and smiled, shaking one of the dangling stuffed animals at him.

“What’s that, Ted? Is it a…. zebra? Oh, no, it’s a chew toy,” he said, grinning as Teddy resolutely sucked on the zebra’s ears, looking far too serious for a six month old. “Careful, kiddo. That’s the only playmat we’ve got. ‘Least until Dad gets paid.”

He checked his watch. He had about half an hour until he had to get to his lecture, which meant fifteen minutes to get ready and wrangle Teddy. A five-minute shower later, he was stood in front of his tiny wardrobe, looking for something that wasn’t stained with spit-up. He’d learned his lesson about wearing corduroy around a baby, and saved his favourite trousers for when Teddy was with Dora. So, too-short jeans it was. At least he could hide it by rolling them up at the ankle. Tattered shoes and an old jumper were thrown on, and he scooped up his old satchel before leaving the room. Today was one of the days that he had to drop Teddy to one of his professor’s offices, and he was always nervous about it. Not that he didn’t trust McGonagall, the woman was as trustworthy as they came, but he was always scared that someone would question it, and he’d be labelled a bad parent, and have Teddy taken away from him. He still had nightmares about that.

“C’mon, Teddy,” he said, lifting his son onto his hip – he had yet to save up for a carrier – and manoeuvring them both out of the flat, casting one last look around for any open window or plugged in cable.

He was out of the lecture by eleven, but there were another four hours before he’d be able to go home. He couldn’t have a proper job – childcare was expensive and it was unfair to pin it on Lily when she needed to sleep after her late shifts – so he tutored most days in the campus library, helping pretty much anyone who needed it. Essays had always been his strong suit, no matter the subject, and he always felt a small rush of pride whenever someone came back to thank him. He charged for repeated sessions, obviously; he couldn’t afford not to. But that never seemed to turn people off, and since he’d started university a year ago, he'd built up a steady group of regulars, which had only grown as word got around about him. Most of them were rich, and had names to live up to; Remus allowed himself to feel a _little_ smug about how even with everything he'd had to put up with, he’d got into a top university by himself and had _worked_ for it.

Not that most of the people he tutored weren’t nice. They were usually eager to learn and grateful to Remus, but sometimes their comments rubbed him up the wrong way. James Potter, the guy he was supposed to tutor after lunch, was one of them. He was kind, and always had a smile for everyone, but he did have an air of public school ignorance that sometimes made Remus want to smack his head into the table. But he was alright, mostly, and he paid well, so he could let his lack of tact slide.

* * *

“So, what exactly aren’t you understanding?”

James put his head in his hands, thankfully not seeing Remus’ amused, if exasperated, smile. “I don’t know, I just can't seem to _get_ it, y’know? I was fine at school, essays were piss easy then, but now – it’s like it’s another language.”

“Well, there’s your problem,” Remus replied, “unis expect you to be able to use all the technical language and _sound_ like you know what you’re on about. You want to work in sports, don’t you?”

“Rugby, yeah.” Remus was slightly taken aback; James was strong, but he wasn’t overly muscled like some of the players Remus had seen. He promptly cleared his throat, as the thought of James playing rugby crossed his mind. Nice as the image was, he was here to make a quid, not fantasise. “Coaching, and maybe managing if I can. Got a pretty good sense of what to do with a team,” James continued. It sounded like a boast, but even in the little time that Remus had known James, he knew it wasn’t. James, for all his ego, didn’t seem like the type to jerk himself off over his own merit.

“That’s – quite cool, actually.”

“Thanks, Lupin.” James grinned, and pulled the essay back towards him, scribbling notes in the margins. “So, use more terminology, right? And work on brushing up the textbook knowledge, I guess.”

“Yeah, pretty much. So,” Remus said, glancing at his watch, “we’ve been here a couple hours, was there anything other than that essay and the presentation you wanted help with?”

“Nah, thanks, mate, you’re a lifesaver.” Remus smiled and shook his head, and James looked a little incredulous. “Seriously! You’ve helped so much over the last couple months – my coach was threatening to move me to reserve if I didn’t pull my shit together. You should help my mate Sirius, he’s hopeless at his course.”

“What’s he doing?” Remus asked absently, packing away his things.

“Law,” James snorted. “Dunno why, he hates anything academic, even if he’s smarter than anyone I know.”

“Ah, well, maybe bring him along sometime.”

James’ eyes lit up. “You’re onto something, there.”

They made small talk for another few minutes, then James handed over the money and he was off, sprinting towards the exit. He always seemed to be in a rush; Remus sometimes just wanted to stick a joint in his mouth and tell him to relax a little. He hadn’t smoked in a while, though; he would never in front of Teddy. He missed how relaxed it made him feel, and how simple everything seemed, so unlike the constant barrage that were his thoughts these days.

The massive clock on the wall told him it was time to be getting home, so he dumped all his stuff in his satchel and made for the door, at a far more sedate pace than James. Campus grounds were always beautiful, even at this time of year; the weak January sunset turned the windows into fire, and the spires of the towers stood stark against the reddening sky. Remus thought he’d always have a soft spot for Edinburgh; he might have been Bala born and raised, but the city was one of his favourite places in the world. There was always something new to see, and the university wasn’t shy about its enthusiasm for festivals – Remus remembered last Burns night very fondly, if with a little wince for the thumping headache he’d had for a solid two days afterwards.

His and Lily’s flat was somewhat out of the way, in a less fashionable district, but it was in an old sandstone house, with a lovely view of the city outside the kitchen window, and Remus couldn’t have asked for anything better. He couldn’t have asked for a better flatmate, really.

Sweeping into his life mid-first year, Lily Evans had handled everything Remus’ screwed up life had thrown at them with grace, and a handy bottle of cheap Tesco’s wine she would bring out whenever either of them needed it. They’d been with each other through a lot; her sister cutting her off, his messy relationship with Tonks. There had been times in their tiny kitchen when they’d spilled their guts to each other, and cried on the floor together before picking themselves up and facing the next day. She was the closest thing to a sister he’d ever had, and he was quite sure he’d do anything for her, and she for him.

She was asleep on the couch when he walked in, Teddy on her chest as they both snuffled in their sleep. Remus snapped a quick photo of the scene – he was an absolute sucker for mementos – and gently placed a blanket over them. He checked the fridge, and decided he’d make something for dinner, as a thank-you to Lily. She always insisted she was happy to help, and that Remus didn’t need to feel guilty about anything, but the slight shame still lingered.

They didn’t have the right sauce for the curry he was making, and he’d be damned before he’d root through Lily’s food bank donations bag, so he decided to throw in half the spices they had in the cupboard and hope for the best. Spice was good for colds, he’d read, or maybe that was just one of James’ ramblings during their tutoring sessions, and he could feel the sniffles coming on. So, in went the chilli powder.

What he didn’t take into account was that he and Lily were very much Welsh and Irish, and very much not equipped to deal with spice.

“Wow, Remus,” Lily said, eyes streaming, her usually lilting voice slightly cracked, “this is amazing, but, just _how_ many different spices did you put in here?”

“Uhh, not too sure,” Remus coughed, downing a glass of water, “maybe a little too many?”

They both laughed, and suffered through the rest of the meal. After all, to university students, food was food.


	2. You Know What They Say About Posh Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i said this was enemies to lovers and that is how it's going to be >:)
> 
> kudos and comments are always appreciated!

“You’re going to drop dead from that, someday.”

“And we’ll all rejoice when that happens, now piss off and leave me to my lung cancer.” Sirius' voice lacked any bite; this conversation was well played out by now, and James knew it — he rolled his eyes playfully and punched Sirius in the shoulder, before grabbing his bag and heading to the door of their flat.

“Be back soon — got tutoring.”

Sirius grunted in response and laid back on his bed, putting the joint back in his mouth. He was lucky James was too late to stick around longer; he’d have had Sirius' head for not sharing. As it was a Thursday, and James had tutoring, he could afford to take his time. Maybe he’d pick up one of the law textbooks and try and at least show a shadow of interest, although his bullshitting techniques from school seemed to be working so far. _Nah,_ he thought, smirking, _if I get kicked out they’ll_ have _to let me do something else._

He looked wistfully at the bike model on his dressing table, and at the books he had stacked up next to it. If only he’d left home sooner, although he couldn’t deny that not worrying about university fees was a definite positive in the veritable tsunami of negatives that came with still being associated with his family. Still, it was depressing to think that the rest of his years at university were going to be spent doing something he detested. Maybe he’d try to sneak into the engineering lectures again that year, even if it had caused outrage from his mother when he’d finally been caught.

 _Or maybe –_ he sighed, eyeing the growing pile of essays that were yet to make it past the title. Maybe he’d start on those. Much as he hated admitting it, doing nothing at university was starting to lack its original gleam. Even James was starting to take everything so _seriously_ now; he’d even started paying for a tutor for help on his essays.

“Damn you, Potter, and your good example,” he muttered, stubbing out his spliff and sitting down at his desk. Time to tackle the history of UK law.

James returned sweaty and covered in mud. Sirius raised an eyebrow as he came in, putting his barely-started essay down on the desk. “Who’ve you buried?”

“Oh, fuck off,” James said, ruffling his hair and making to sit down on Sirius’ bed, only stopping when Sirius let out an indignant squeak. “Peter and the Prewetts caught me and asked for some help with manoeuvres, ‘s all.”

“The rugby Messiah helps all, but forgets date night,” Sirius drawled.

James grinned good-naturedly. “Had some extra time, and dinner’s not on the stove, so what kind of a husband are you?”

“A working one, Potter! You think I'm not going to be the Amal Clooney in this relationship?”

He laughed, and ruffled Sirius’ hair. “Not with the way you’re going, you won’t. Have you written anything more than the title?” James snatched the essay from the desk and cleared his throat. “The history of UK law, and how it has affected how laws are implemented today,” he read, his voice high and irritatingly posh. “Sounds like a bloody shitshow.”

“It is,” Sirius sighed, smoothing his hair back into place. “Trust me, you couldn’t pay me to be interested in this shite.”

“Still don’t get why you don’t just up and leave. You’ve got Alphard’s money.”

“Frozen until I’m twenty-one, remember? Can’t afford to live in Edinburgh without dearest Mummy’s money.”

James tilted his head, frowning. “Mum and Dad would never let you be homeless, you know that.”

“Yeah, but –” Sirius coughed, and turned away; he could feel tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “I don’t want them to feel like they _have_ to help. ‘M fine sticking this out for a couple more years. Who knows,” he added, turning and fixing a smirk to his face, “maybe I’ll end up liking law.”

James snorted. “Yeah, and tomorrow you’ll wake up and tell me your greatest wish in life is to shag a girl.”

“Piss off, Potter.” Sirius flipped him the bird, and James just laughed and sat himself on the floor against the bed.

“Hey, about the law thing.”

“Mm?”

“The guy I’m seeing for tutoring is actually really good, you should try it sometime.”

Sirius scoffed. “I’m perfectly capable of doing my work, Potter.”

“Capable, yeah. Willing? Not so much. Come on,” James said, a smirk pulling up the corners of his mouth. “He’s just your type.”

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going to tutoring just to perv on some guy, James. I’m not that desperate.”

“Fine, have it your way.” James let his head fall back against the bed, and Sirius turned back to his essay. He’d got a pitifully short way through in the three hours James had been gone, choosing instead to see how long he could spin his pen on his fingers without dropping it, and counting the individual bobbles on their popcorn ceiling. He did need help with organisation, and he knew it. He could count the number of times he’d handed an essay in on time on his hands, and he was pretty sure none of his professors even knew his name, he showed up to seminars so infrequently.

He could do so well, if he only gave a single shit about law. But he didn’t. Truth be told, if he could have quit the course and gone to do something he actually enjoyed, he would have left a week into the first semester, but the thinly-veiled threats his mother hid in her emails to him every week reminded Sirius that whilst he was living on his own, in a different country to his family, they could still reach him any time they wished. The thought of failing his degree and being summoned home made his blood run cold, and maybe that was what influenced his next decision.

“Alright.”

“Hm?” James jolted up from where he was dozing. “Whassat?”

“I said alright. I’ll tag along to your poncey tutor session.” James started to grin, and Sirius sighed. “Come on then, let’s hear it.”

But James only grinned wider. “Nah. I’ll gloat when you see him on Thursday. So,” he said, jumping up from the floor, “is curry alright for dinner?”

“Extra spicy.” The only thing Sirius missed about home was the food, and he was yet to find a place in Edinburgh that made _bun cha_ as well as his mother used to, when she was in a very rare good mood.

“Do I look white to you?” James snorted, heading into the kitchen.

Sirius leaned back on his chair, staring at the ceiling again. After a few minutes, the sounds of sizzling oil and spices filled the flat, and he could feel his mouth watering as his stomach started to growl. When it was James’ turn to cook, he always ended up making enough food to feed a small army, because Sirius always whinged that no one could get the delicate balance of flavour quite like him.

They ate dinner on the couch, like usual, bickering about what movie to watch. James won, but only because he sat on the remote as _Ten Things I Hate About You_ began to play, much to Sirius’ disgust. However, when it got to the marching band scene, they were both singing loudly and very much off-key, clutching at each other and singing into the remote.

* * *

Next Thursday, Remus arrived on time, as usual, to his and James' usual table, to find two people waiting for him. Not quite the usual.

James was grinning at him, wide brown eyes and white teeth, essay at the ready. “Lupin! Hooch loved it!”

Remus' answering grin wasn’t quite so maniacal, but it was still big as he sat across from James. “That’s great, James, I’m glad.” He then took in the other person at the table.

The first thing he registered was that this guy looked incredibly bored. The second thing he registered was that he was gorgeous, all long black hair and high cheekbones and dark brown eyes, currently looking straight at Remus. “Who're you?”

The guy cocked an eyebrow. “Sirius Black.” His voice was deep, but undeniably aristocratic _. Oh no,_ Remus thought, _don’t let him be insufferable._

He smiled a little tightly at Black, and turned his attention back to James. “Right, good to meet you. So, James, what’s on the agenda this week?”

They carried on their session as per normal, but Remus couldn’t ignore the constant _staring_ from Black. A few times he looked up and caught his eye, but Black didn’t drop his gaze; just continued looking at him belligerently, often with an arched eyebrow and a challenge in his eyes. He didn’t talk, just leaned back on his chair and observed the scene. It rubbed Remus up the wrong way; he wasn’t there to be _judged_ , to impress some Tory bastard who had nothing better to do. He tried to tune it out and focus solely on James, who was as pleasant as usual, and clearly didn’t notice his friend attempting to turn Remus to stone.

After an hour, James sat back in his chair. “So, Lupin. Y’know how I mentioned my mate who’s useless at his course?” He gestured to Black, who shot him a venomous glare. “Sirius here was wondering if you could give him some pointers on being a bit more organised.”

“Sure,” Remus said, shrugging. “What’s up?”

Black just looked at him disdainfully, and Remus felt his patience wearing thin. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Are you going to keep staring at me like I’m the shit on your shoe, or are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s _wrong_ ,” Black snapped, “I just don’t see the point in handing in useless shit that won’t help me at all.”

Remus felt his blood begin to boil. These were the exact type of students he _hated._ “Oh, sorry, I forgot. Daddy’s always going to bail you out no matter how much you piss away your time here, right? Forty grand’s just your week’s pocket money, so fuck anyone who’s actually _working_ for their degree, I guess. Fuck people like me for giving up our time trying to help you entitled pieces of shit, when I’ve got my own fucking workload to be getting on with. Why don’t you piss off back to Mummy, and learn some upper class fucking _manners_.”

Black pushed back his chair roughly and stormed towards the exit. Remus watched him go, breathing hard. James had sunk low in his chair, and was eyeing Remus slightly warily. “Erm, should I—?"

Remus shook himself. He’d never yelled at someone he was tutoring like that before, even if they deserved it. Oh Christ, Pince was going to have his head for disturbing the sacred peace of the library. “No, you don’t have to go. But maybe — we should probably find somewhere else to go for the last hour. Pince might execute us if we don’t.”

James gave him a small smile. “I’d suggest my flat, but I think Sirius has gone there to sulk.”

Remus considered his choices. He _could_ find somewhere else, probably. But it had been a long day, and he was feeling the consequences of finishing an essay at four in the morning. And if James was an arsehole about where he lived, well. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to snide comments.

“Let’s go back to mine.”


	3. Not Nineteen Forever (Not Twenty One Just Yet)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and finally the secondary pairing meeting that everyone is waiting for, plus James being a Good Friend

“Hey, Lils!” Remus called, as he unlocked the front door. “Brought someone over, sorry for not texting.”

Lily popped her head out from her room. “No worries. Ted's sleeping, so I’d keep it down.”

“Yeah, ‘course.” He turned to James, who was staring over his shoulder. “Alright?”

James jumped, and met Remus' gaze again. “Yeah, yeah. Um, is — are you guys...?”

Remus laughed, recognising exactly what was going on. “No, we aren’t. Ted’s my kid, Lily’s my best friend.”

James nodded slowly, smile spreading across his face. “Cool. So, uh, where should I put my stuff?”

If he was being honest, Remus had been expecting questions, confusion, maybe a little disapproval. But James obediently put his bag down in the specified corner, and took a seat on their old couch without any fuss. Remus ducked into his room for a second to check on Teddy, then sat down next to James, flipping through his folder to where they left off. “So, you’ve improved a lot from last time, that’s great. Here, let’s get out your first essay, and compare...”

They got through about half an hour, before Teddy started to fuss. Lily came out of her room and made to get him, but Remus waved her off. “No worries, Lils, you’ve been looking after him all day.”

James had an odd expression on his face; if Remus had been paying close attention, he probably would have seen nerves and excitement. “Is he okay with people?”

Remus grinned to himself as he made his way to his room. “He’s not a wild animal, James. He can smell fear, though.” James and Lily laughed, and he felt a little thrill of excitement at being able to finally introduce Teddy to someone new.

Quickly, he changed Teddy out of his dirty nappy and pyjamas, and into a tiny pair of dungarees that seemed to be his favourite at the moment. By then, Teddy was happier again, giggling and reaching out to tug on Remus' curls. Remus gently extracted himself from his son’s vice grip, and made his way out again.

James' eyes lit up when he saw Teddy, and immediately stood up. “Oh my God, he’s tiny. Hi!” he said softly to Teddy, waving at him. Teddy snuffled, staring up at James, and smiled, making small sounds and actually reaching out for him.

“You want to hold him?” Remus asked, and James practically jumped in his excitement.

“Can I?” He looked like a puppy, and Remus grinned.

“’Course.” He held Teddy out, and James took him gently, rocking him and cooing.

“Hi! Oh my God, Lupin, why didn’t you tell me you had a kid, he’s so _cute_.”

Remus laughed. “Probably because everyone I tutor wouldn’t do any work if he was there.”

James grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. Do you want him back?”

“I’ll take him,” Lily said, emerging from her room. James went a little slack-jawed, and he nodded repeatedly.

“Yeah, of course. Lily, wasn’t it? I’m James, James Potter.”

“Lovely,” Lily replied, taking Teddy from him. “He can keep me company whilst I do my appraisal,” she said to Remus, as she retreated back to her room.

James watched her, and Remus was distinctly reminded of a puppy. “She’s — wow. Is she a tutor as well?” he asked hopefully.

“Nah, she’s a nurse in training,” Remus replied, sitting back down.

James sighed. “Oh, well. Anyone, uh, in the picture?”

Remus struggled not to laugh as he shook his head, watching James' eyes light up. “C’mon, I want to get through this bit on case studies before you go.”

James delayed his departure by about forty minutes, insisting he help Remus clean up before leaving, and offering to help with the washing up, feeding Teddy, and even putting him to bed. It took a slightly pointed comment from Lily about the time before he finally let himself out, dropping several half questions about continuing to study at Remus', which Remus pretended not to notice.

“Christ, he wasn’t half keen,” Lily said, when the door finally closed.

“Ha, yeah. He’s alright, even with the friends he has.”

“Something happen today?”

“Mm. May have cursed his friend out.”

“Want to order pizza and bitch about it? I nicked a coupon at work.”

“God, yes.”

* * *

“Where've you been?” Sirius demanded, as soon as James walked in the door.

“Lupin's, why?”

“Didn’t you hear what he said to me?”

James sighed long-sufferingly. “Yeah.”

“And you still went and studied at his house?”

“Yeah, mate, I did. And you _were_ being a bit of a dick, let’s be honest. He doesn’t know anything about you, Sirius, how exactly was he supposed to know about your family?”

Sirius didn’t have an answer. He huffed, and stared at the wall, arms folded. James chuckled, and dropped down next to him on the sofa, lifting one arm. Begrudgingly, Sirius leant against him, and James' arm wrapped around him. He was right, as usual. He hadn’t wanted to be there, hadn’t wanted to sit there and play buddy-buddy with some smartarse ponce who didn’t know shit about anything.

Except. Lupin did know his stuff; that much was evident. And he was patient, not even laughing at James' occasionally idiotic questions. And he seemed — _nice_ , down-to-earth and funny and exactly the type of person Sirius liked to hang out with. If only he hadn’t been a dick to Sirius, they probably would’ve got along.

James was silent, waiting for Sirius to speak, which meant he was expecting Sirius to be the bigger person, something he highly disliked doing.

“Ugh. You’re going to make me apologise, aren’t you?”

“You did start it.”

“I did not! He was the one that started assuming shit and yelling at me!”

“And you were acting as if you were above everything. Did you even say hello to him?”

“I — no, but he — I —”

James smirked down at him, and Sirius grunted, turning away from him. “You’re the worst best friend.”

“Nah, I put up with you, don’t I?” James ruffled Sirius' hair, receiving a squawk and a punch to the arm in response, as he stood up. “Come along next week, and just say sorry, and maybe he’ll say it back.”

“Fuck off if you think I’m listening to any more of your ideas, Potter.” But of course he was going to. James had a way of making anyone feel very guilty for something they’d done, and it ruined any chances of Sirius getting away with being a dick. He blamed James' mum; she managed to be absolutely terrifying whilst smiling sweetly at him. He shuddered to think of what she’d say in this situation.

“James?”

“Mm?”

“Am I really that much of a dick?”

James sighed, turning his head and smiling slightly exasperatedly at him. “No, Sirius. You just – take some getting used to. Not everyone’s known you for ten years, mate.”

“Okay.”

“So that’s why you’re going to go back next week and say sorry.”

“Ugh.”

“Or I’ll make you run rugby drills with me again.”

“Uuuuuugh.”

There was no malice in their bickering; there never was. Ten years of spending nearly every day together made upsetting each other pretty difficult. The one and only time they’d fought was when James had accidentally taken the wing mirror off Sirius’s beloved ‘75 Sportster, and Sirius didn’t talk to him for a solid three days. But it wasn’t permanent. Anything could be fixed between them with a peace offering and a movie night. It was easy.

So apologising to Lupin would be too.

In the meantime, James had put on Spike Island, and had somehow made two mugs of coffee appear out of nowhere. He handed one to Sirius, and it was clear he was ready to let him off the hook for a little while. So Sirius sank back into their sofa, and watched kids with terrible haircuts try and weasel their way into a festival.

 _Ping_.

Sirius groaned. “What does she want now?”

James hit pause, brows already knitting together. “That’s two this week. Should we be worried?”

“I don’t…think so?” Sirius racked his brains for anything he could’ve done in the past week that would’ve earned a coldly-worded email from his mother. He opened the message just as the penny dropped. “I didn’t hand in that history of law essay. Fuck.” He scanned the email, skipping over the ‘disappointment’s and the ‘shame on the family’s, to the end, where she’d saved her favourite threat until last. Swallowing hard, he spun the laptop around to face James, who had practically vaulted over the couch at the first sign of distress from Sirius.

“Something, something, if marks aren’t up… what?” James looked up, alarmed. “No, she can’t do that.”

“She can if she wants.” He didn’t want to look at the screen anymore. His stomach wanted to empty itself. He was vaguely aware of James talking, making plans for how to fix it, but all he felt was the cold seat of the kitchen chair, and the ringing of his mother’s words in his head.

“Sirius! Mate, hey, hey, c’mon, it’s alright.” James was crouched in front of him. His hand was on Sirius’ knee. He was rubbing circles into the fabric of his jeans, and Sirius managed to make eye contact with him. Deep breaths.

One. Two.

“She’s not here, mate. We can sort this out.”

“Yeah?”

“Pinkie promise,” James said, holding out his hand, expression solemn. Sirius locked their fingers, and smiled, even if it was a little shaky.

“Thanks, James.”

James just grinned, and offered his hand. Sirius took it, and was pulled up and over to the couch, where they settled back in, ignoring the unanswered email.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos appreciated :)


	4. I Am the Son and Heir of Nothing in Particular

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more black family drama, because why not? + sirius attempting the impossible - swallowing his pride
> 
> excuse the french, it feels right based on my a level class, but feel free to correct it

“ _S_ _alut, frangin.”_

"Hello, Sirius.”

“ _Quoi, pas de français pour moi?_ ”

He could hear Regulus sigh. “ _Elle m’écoute, et tu sais qu’elle aime pas quand je te parle en français.”_

“ _Oui, mais… tu es presque adult, Reg. S’elle ne le supporte pas, c’est sa problème.”_

“Can you just speak normally for once?”

Sirius sat up, scowling. “It _is_ normal, Reg. James talks to his parents in Punjabi all the time. Just ‘cause _she_ hates it doesn’t mean –”

“Just – just drop it. Please,” Regulus said, voice going high. That was his tell, and Sirius backed down.

“Okay, okay. Um, how are you?”

“Fine,” he replied stiffly. “Dad’s taking me to see Oxford tomorrow.”

“Not much point, when you already know you’ll get in.”

Regulus barked a laugh. “Well, maybe it’s to see if _I_ like it.”

“Ha, good one. Do you think you will?”

He could practically _hear_ Reg’s shrug. “As long as it’s Finance, I couldn’t care less. Leg up into one of Dad’s friend’s businesses if I go, too.”

Sirius sighed, slumping back against his pillows. Typical Regulus, always looking for how he could benefit from a situation. “Guess I filled the law spot, then.”

“From the two broken mirrors this week, you’re not doing a great job.” Reg’s voice had become colder, and the monotone was a big red flag.

“Reg? You okay?”

“You couldn’t try and do something right over there? You’re seven hours away, I get it, but _some_ of us have to be here for another year.”

“Reg, I’m –”

“If you're about to say you’re trying, I’m going to hang up the phone.”

He swiped a hand across his face. _Fuck._ “Okay.”

They were silent for a while, Sirius picking at a loose thread on his pillow case, and Regulus probably staring out of his window back in London. The flat in Edinburgh was a world away from where Sirius grew up; it was light where Grimmauld place was dreary, filled with laughter when the London house was always deathly quiet. Since he’d left, Sirius hadn’t really thought about London, or how Reg was coping. He tried to imagine it; hushed hallways and cold looks from their parents, a silent dinner served by a silent maid. No brother to lighten the mood, or steal dessert from the kitchen when Mother was in a temper. No catapulting things at their older cousins from three floors up, no chasing each other around the empty spare rooms.

“How about you come visit here?” The words were out of his mouth before he had time to think them through.

“What?”

“I said,” Sirius took a breath, “how about you come visit here? Could pass it off as a uni visit, and Mum’ll be fine with it as long as she can give you a list of every awful thing I’ve done over the past twenty years.”

“I –”

“No worries if you don’t want to,” Sirius added hurriedly, “it was just an idea.”

“No, I – it sounds like a plan.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Regulus said, his voice gaining strength. “I’d better start convincing them, then.”

Sirius smiled. “Alright, then. See you soon, hopefully.”

“ _Salut, chienne._ ” Reg hung up first, as usual, and Sirius was left staring at the ceiling once again, in a better mood than he normally was after his and Regulus’ calls.

He barely saw his brother anymore; when Sirius was rarely in London, Regulus always happened to be on some course or another, and any phone calls were short and terse.

It wasn’t as if he’d done nothing to incite it, however. He’d gone to boarding school aged eleven, met James, and their friend Peter, and any glimmer of hope Sirius’ parents had of him becoming the perfect heir died within that first year. Instead he became, in his teachers’ words, a ‘tearaway hooligan’; bolstered by the first taste of freedom and adolescence, he, James, and Peter spent most of their time pranking, messing around and engaging in all round shenanigans, much to the horror of the senior Blacks. It only became worse as he got older; when Regulus joined the school, Sirius played up more than ever, inviting angry visits from their mother and harsh letters from their father. His cousins even got involved at one point. Bellatrix’s threats couldn’t scare him straight, nor could Narcissa’s bland words about honour and respect. Andromeda, of course, hadn’t been there; his eldest and only cousin he could still rely on had done the smart thing and ran away as soon as she left school. She’d left no way to contact her, and Sirius would have been impressed, if he hadn’t desperately needed someone to talk to when he was being coerced into a law degree.

And he was back to thinking about school. The phone call to Reg was supposed to distract him, not send him down a rabbit hole of melodrama. And that thought only brought him back to Lupin, and the insults he’d thrown at Sirius. What right did he have, getting all high-and-mighty about something he knew jack shit about?

 _You_ were _being an arse, though,_ a traitorous voice in his head said.

So what if he was? Lupin clearly didn’t care about him beyond that first impression, which had _clearly_ bombed. What did it matter if he apologised or not?

That settled it. He wouldn’t go back to the library next week, and he wouldn’t talk to Lupin again.

* * *

Remus looked at Black, took in the carefully crafted disinterest and the seemingly permanent disdain on his face. He saw how tightly his arms were folded, and his sudden interest in the coffee stain on the ancient library table.

Something Remus had learned in the past ten silent minutes was that Black didn’t easily crack. The guy appeared about as stubborn as Remus, which didn’t really bode well for any attempted apologies, or, that was what it seemed like Black was trying to do.

Remus sighed. “Going to guess this is why James texted to say he’d be late.” An almost imperceptible nod. “I’m still expecting to be paid for the full time, y’know. And for dealing with your emotional constipation.”

Black mumbled something, and Remus felt himself getting irritated again. “What?”

“I said I was sorry for being a prick,” Black said. His long-suffering tone negated any goodwill Remus might have felt after his apology.

“Right. Good for you. Is James coming any time soon?”

The relief that spread across Black’s face at the topic change almost made him laugh. “Yeah, yeah, he said he’d only be another couple minutes.”

“Did he guess it’d take you ten minutes to swallow your pride?”

“Fuck off, Lupin.”

They both fell silent, and to evade the awkwardness that was descending on them, Remus pulled out his stuff for the session. He heard something drop, but ignored it. Dumping everything on the table, he looked up, and saw that Black was no longer there. “Uh, hello?”

His head popped up from under the table. Remus suppressed the instinct to yelp, and settled for an extremely subtle-looking flinch. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Getting your – ugh, whatever.” Black tossed something at him, and he caught it. His planner. Something that was arguably vital to his entire existence.

“Oh. Thanks.”

“No problem, _Remus._ Nice of you to introduce yourself, by the way,” Black said, lip curling.

“Oh, piss off, as if you gave me a chance.”

“I did. I introduced myself, and it’s _polite_ to do it back.” Shit, he wasn’t entirely wrong. Nothing to do now but deflect.

“Oh yeah, because you were _so_ well-mannered last week.”

“’Least I didn’t go on a rant about how all Tories should jump off a cliff.” Black sat back, folding his arms. Remus let out an exasperated breath through his nose.

“First of all, didn’t say that. Second of all, completely agree. Third of all, pipe down, Black. I figured James had already introduced me.”

Black’s mouth twisted, as if he didn’t want to admit Remus had a point. “He’s not the most forward-thinking bloke.”

“I can tell,” Remus said drily.

“I heard my name, what’s up?” James plonked himself down next to Black, greeting Remus with an ever-ready smile. “Have you two sorted out your domestic yet?”

“He hasn’t apologised for being a dick yet.” Remus snorted derisively, while James grinned again, elbowing Black.

“Thought the whole point was _you_ were here to apologise to _him,_ ” he said.

“I did!”

“Begrudgingly,” Remus added, earning a glare from Black.

James just tutted. “I can see this is gonna be an ongoing thing, so, as the responsible one here –” both Black and Remus let out loud barks of laughter, which he ignored “– I’m gonna stop it now. So, Remus, we had this lecture, right, and I used all the tips you gave me, but…”

They were back to last week; James chattering, Remus trying to tutor and Black glowering in the background, trying to burn a hole in the bookcase behind Remus’ head. Remus brushed it off this time, though, and concentrated on trying to decipher James’ speech, littered with sports jargon and old-fashioned sayings he clearly had learned from his mother. He tried to hold back a laugh when James said “it was a jolly good hand-off”, and feigned a cough, accidentally locking eyes with Black, who let out a rather inelegant snort and tried to pass it off as a choking fit. James didn’t seem to notice, and went on about ‘recycling’, which Remus was fairly certain had nothing to do with saving the environment.

At the end of the session, Black jumped up, clearly eager to leave, but James remained in his seat, looking slightly apprehensive. Black cleared his throat, and was subsequently ignored, as James leaned forward.

“Hey, Lupin…”

“Yeah?” Remus said, glancing up from his books.

“So, I was thinking… we’re having a, uh, a get-together tomorrow night –” Black coughed louder, but James pressed on, “and I was wondering, if – if you – and Lily – would want to come?”

Remus stared at him. Never, in his entire university life, had any of the people he’d tutored actually asked to see him outside of the sessions. And yes, he knew in the back of his mind that James was really interested in Lily, but he was flattered nonetheless.

James was already scrambling to apologise. “’Course, if you don’t want to, it’s fine! I should’ve probably given you more warning, and I don’t even really know Lily, so –” Remus leaned over and punched him in the arm.

He gave James his best attempt at a reassuring grin. “I’ll ask Lily, but I’d love to come. I’m sure she’d be into it, too.”

“Really? I mean,” James said, grinning from ear to ear, “that’s great! I’ll text you my address. Everyone normally turns up around seven ish, and I’ll be cooking, so don’t worry about food.”

“Sure, James,” Remus replied, smiling wider, “see you then.”

“Yeah, bye!” James leapt up, grabbing Black by the sleeve, who looked more than a little disgruntled, and practically skipped out of the door. Remus shook his head, and pulled out his phone to text Lily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated :)


	5. Thank God It's Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the long wait - ive been away for the past week and im away again for the next 10 days, so updates may be a wee bit slow
> 
> also apologies for the formatting - im pasting this from my phone which never seems to want to format things correctly, so just hang on until i get my hands on my laptop :)
> 
> anyway, on to the next chapter!

Lily leapt on him the moment he got in the door. “Why didn’t you tell me you had fancy friends?”

“I don’t!” Remus said, batting her off, “they go against my whole moral view.”

Lily snorted. “Shut up, Remus, you’d kill to have what they have.”

“Yeah, but I’m trying to be the moral superior here. If I could redistribute my wealth, I would, but we kind of need it to pay the gas bill.”

“Thank god you didn’t do a philosophy degree, I’d have murdered you by now.”

“Hey!”

Teddy began to fuss from the other room, and Remus walked in to greet him. “How’s the best kid in the world?”

Ted giggled, and reached out for Remus. He picked him up and tossed him a few times, receiving screams of laughter in return, and carried him out into the living room, where he sat spread-eagled on the couch with Teddy on his lap. Lily smiled at the two of them, and sat on their old armchair, feet on the coffee table.

“So, want to hear about the patient that shat himself all over Severus today?”

Remus burst out laughing, and nodded at her to continue.

“So this poor old man, bless his heart, he’s called Gilderoy and thinks he’s Elvis, totters into the nurse’s office and asks for someone to help him find his microphone or something, and obviously because I’m the trainee they make me go and help him back to bed, so of course Severus jumps up and is like ‘oh I’ll help, I’m sure you can't do it by yourself’ like I’m a fucking child or something,” Lily said, a look of disgust on her face. Remus could understand – Severus was a creep.

“So we’re taking this guy back, right, and he suddenly starts swaying, and I say ‘let’s get him to the closest chair’ but god-sent Sev is like ‘no no, I got it’, so he takes all this guy’s weight, and,” she started to giggle, “didn’t quite realise how heavy he was, so this guy goes flying into Sev and they both go down.”

“Oh, no.” Remus was starting to see where the story was going.

“Loses complete control of his bowels. All over Severus’ scrubs, all over the floor, and this poor guy is just smiling away waiting for someone to help him up, and Sev is just underneath him covered in shit.” Lily was laughing in earnest now, and Remus joined her, the two of them howling at the mental image of Severus covered in shit, Teddy joining in even though he had no idea what was being said.

“What –” Remus struggled to get his breath back, “what did you do?”

Lily smirked, her cheeks bright pink. “Told one of the seniors, and she made him clean it all up whilst we got the man back to bed.”

“Oh my god, that’s brilliant,” Remus said, wiping his eyes on his shirtsleeve. “Think he’ll leave you alone now?”

“He followed me from Cokeworth to Edinburgh just so he could stalk me, you think a little shit is going to stop him?” Lily looked slightly less cheerful, and Remus leaned across to pat her arm.

“If he ever comes near the flat, I’ll get Alice to kill him.”

Lily laughed. “You’ll hide the body, I guess?”

“Of course, Lils.” They were quiet for a while, Remus teaching Teddy how to clap his hands, and getting unreasonably excited when Teddy managed to do it on his own, when Lily shifted in her seat.

“Remus? Are you sure you want us both to go tomorrow?”

Remus looked up. Lily was eyeing him, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “Well, yeah, Lily, why wouldn’t I?”

She gestured to Teddy, and it dawned on Remus. “Ah.”

She smiled a little sadly. “You know, I don’t have to go.”

“What? No, if I go you go. You can't leave me alone with them.”

“Well, what do we do?”

Remus looked down at his son, who was clapping his tiny hands without a care in the world.

Then an image popped into his head; James holding Teddy expertly, and treating him with the utmost care. An idea started to form in his head, and Remus reached for his phone.

“Something tells me James won’t mind too much.”

The same realisation hit Lily, and she grinned. “He’ll try and adopt Ted.”

“If he wants to deal with a 4am wakeup call, he’s more than welcome to it,” Remus laughed. He quickly texted James, and a reply popped up less than a minute later, accompanied with lots of exclamation points and queries about what kinds of food he could make Teddy. “Well, looks like our posh friend is wholly on board.”

Lily had a soft look in her eyes, and Remus narrowed his in response. “What?”

She shook herself. “Oh, nothing. So, you’re doing the washing tonight, because I’m not letting you go out in sick-covered jeans again.”

“That was one time.”

“You were on a date, Remus! A date!”

He threw a cushion at her, and she fired one back with far superior accuracy, smacking him square in the face. “You twat.”

“Sore loser.”

He was then ordered to do about a hundred loads of laundry, using their very temperamental washing machine. They’d taken to keeping one of Teddy’s stuffed animals on top of the washing machine, as it only seemed to work when the slightly tattered bear was put there, and neither of them had enough money to try and fix the problem.

It was quite the domestic picture that evening; there was leftover falafel from Tuesday, and Lily pulled out a bottle of Tesco’s finest red when Remus finally finished the washing and put Teddy down for the night. They drank and watched a stupid game show from the seventies, and laughed at the contestants with stupid hair trying to find items in a fake supermarket. By the time they said their goodnights to each other, Remus was pleasantly buzzed and much less nervous about Friday. He changed into pyjamas in the pitch black of his room, to not wake Teddy, and climbed into bed.

He didn’t have a nightmare about the coming party, but the last thing he thought of was Sirius Black’s sullen grey-eyed glare.

* * *

Friday dawned bitterly cold and windy. Remus put almost every item of clothing Teddy had on his son, bundling up so much that he resembled a very colourful snowball.

Friday was Remus’ day off – he didn’t have any lectures, and he left himself one day without tutoring to save his sanity. So Fridays were Teddy days; he’d take Teddy out in the battered front sling he’d got from a charity shop, and they’d go exploring Edinburgh. He’d taken him to the castle, the zoo, and today it was the Botanical Gardens. The glass greenhouses had been the places where Remus had fallen in love with Edinburgh, and he had dragged his parents around them for hours, only stopping when the sun was just beginning to hit the horizon. Every year until he left home, Remus returned to the gardens, perhaps not to race around them, but to revel in the peace he found there. Now, he hoped Teddy would enjoy growing up with the tradition.

Their flat in Newington was nearly an hour’s walk away from the gardens, so Remus dug deep into his wallet to afford the much faster, if not remotely warmer, bus. Teddy was kept occupied by a stuffed animal, so Remus took the time to check his emails. Barely a second after he pulled out his phone, a message popped up from James.

  
_Hey, mate, here’s my address for tonight :D_

Of course they lived in Newington too. Remus was willing to bet that James and Sirius’ flat was at least double the size of his and Lily’s, and that their amenities worked a hundred percent of the time, and they probably didn’t even have to pay the rent, thanks to their inheritance. He shook himself, suddenly cross. He and Lily had worked for their flat; he was bloody proud that they’d even got one with two bedrooms. So what if their washing machine didn’t always get the stains out – he wouldn’t trade the life he had with his best friend for the world.

Soon enough, the bus pulled up outside the entrance to the gardens, and after a bit of struggle jostling past old ladies, they were heading towards the first greenhouse. Teddy, to his delight, seemed absolutely entranced by the exotic plants surrounding them, and tried to reach out to grab a couple of the flowers at his head height, presumably to try and eat them. Perhaps because of the much warmer temperature, Teddy’s favourite exhibit seemed to be the Arid Lands. Remus’ personal favourite had always been the rainforest one; he used to sit in it and pretend he was far away from Scotland, away on some exciting expedition.

Around three, Teddy was starting to fuss. He’d been rudely awoken from his afternoon nap in Remus’ lap by a group of Primary Five kids, presumably on a school trip, whooping and yelling, throwing rubbish everywhere. Remus was half tempted to yell at them, but remembered he was supposed to be a responsible father. Besides, if he wanted Teddy to be awake enough for that night, he would have to leave soon anyway.

Lily wasn’t home when he returned, but the food bank donations bag had gone, so he assumed she wouldn’t be long. After putting Teddy down, he stood in the middle of their tiny kitchen, worrying. As per usual. He knew that James had said to not worry about food, but he felt guilty regardless. What would James like? Wine seemed like a normal, grown up thing to bring to a dinner party. Rather than overthink it further, he pulled a bottle of Waitrose red that they’d been saving from their sparsely stocked wine stash, thinking that at least it wouldn’t taste vaguely vinegary.

He had been commanded by Lily to be dressed by the time she came home, so he pulled out a freshly-washed pair of brown corduroys and a grey tshirt, and dumped them on his bed. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too overdressed, although every time he’d seen James, he had on some part of his rugby gear. Black, though, seemed like the type to overdress for any occasion, and he wanted to make sure that –

What? What did he want to make sure of?

Frowning a little, Remus pulled out his only other pair of shoes, and put them on the floor. Teddy was still sleeping, so he crept out of the room, to slump on the couch and wait for Lily, instead of doing anything that could be practical.

Lily got home around half five, hair frizzy and bags under her eyes. She yawned a hello to Remus, and headed straight for her room, citing her need for a power nap. An hour later, both she and Teddy were awake, Remus’ outfit had been approved, and they were nearly ready to go. As usual, she looked lovely, even if Remus was biased. Much as she’d made fun of him when he came to visit the first time, Lily smiled at the mention of James, and was wearing her ‘date skirt’, as they’d come to dub it. He didn’t question it, just bowed her out, Teddy on his hip.

It was a clear night, and Remus would’ve walked over to the flat if he didn’t have a baby in his arms. They got there at ten to seven, which was earlier than Remus would have liked, but Lily took charge and marched him over to the door. She buzzed James’ bell and shoved Remus in front of the speaker, despite his protests.

“Potter and Black,” a cheerful voice crackled.

“It’s Remus and Lily, for the, um, the get-together?”

“Oh! James said you’d be coming. I’ll let you up.” The speaker snapped off, and a low buzz sounded from the front door.

Teddy gurgled in the silence, and Lily smiled encouragingly.

“C’mon, Lupin. What’s the worst that could happen?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos appreciated as always :)


	6. I See You In a Different Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we are..... the Gathering
> 
> ft. james being both a good friend and a pining dork at the same time and sirius meeting teddy and having a small realisation.
> 
> hope you enjoy!

“C’mon Sirius, mate, stop sulking.”

“Why’s he sulking?” Peter’s voice had never quite broken, even three years after puberty.

“Fuck off, Pete,” Sirius called.

“Aha! He speaks!”

“Fuck off to you too.”

Peter barged in, and dropped onto the bed next to Sirius. He poked him in the stomach, and dodged the half-hearted punch that came his way. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“He’s mad because I invited his arch-nemesis here tonight,” James said, leaning against the doorframe.

“You only invited him because of his hot friend,” Sirius muttered.

James only raised an eyebrow in response, even though he was smiling. “Lily may be gorgeous, but Lupin’s a nice guy. _You’re_ just being a dick for the sake of your pride.”

“Am not.”

“Really mature, Black.”

Sirius groaned, finally sitting up. He was met with matching smirks from his best friends and realised he was fighting a losing battle. The smirks told him that no matter what, he was going to have to be civil, and try not to start yet another argument with Lupin.

“How’s the food?” he asked, finally.

James’ face lit up. He was always happy to talk about cooking. “Good! Bread’s done, and I finished the roti a little while ago, so we’re nearly set.”

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “You hate making roti.”

James smiled sheepishly. “Compensation prize?”

It was a dirty tactic. Sirius loved the Potters’ roti, and his mouth was watering at the thought of it. He got up from the bed with a flounce, and ensured that they both saw his head toss as he made his way to the kitchen. James followed him, triumphant grin identical to Peter’s.

The small couches were pushed together, and James had pulled all the pillows he could find onto the floor, to provide a comfortable seat for everyone. All the mess had been cleared away, much to Sirius’ surprise. Usually their flat looked like a bombsite, with clothes and books shoved in every possible crevice. Sirius flopped onto the couch, roti in hand, resolutely not smiling as he scoffed his face. James, like the mother hen he was, fluffed up the pillows and kept looking at the door, ears practically perking up whenever the slam of a door was heard.

It was a smaller crowd tonight. Fridays were their get-together nights, and James and Sirius usually invited everyone they were vaguely friends with. This time, James had brushed off any questions about their parties, and expressly forbade Sirius to invite anyone except Peter. When questioned, all he did was shrug. So Sirius was left, miserably sober, with no cute half-acquaintances to stare at and flirt with, and the looming prospect of awkward small talk with Lupin whilst James attempted to woo this mystery red-head. Which would undoubtedly fail horrendously and James would complain for the next thousand years about it.

“C’mon Sirius, what’s the worst that could happen?” Peter said.

“Lupin could try and fist fight me in my living room.”

“And he’d probably win,” James called from the kitchen.

“Hate you too.”

Peter just shook his head. “It sounds like the worst he’d do is give you the evil eye.”

“He’s got a pretty serious one of those,” James said, coming through and sitting on the couch with them. “Should’ve heard him a couple weeks ago. Felt like a fly on the wall.”

“Try having it directed at you,” Sirius said, slouching down and scowling.

“Oh, you're such a drama queen. Come on,” James said, “you can help with the dips.”

Reluctantly, Sirius got up, and followed James back into the kitchen. James ordered him around the kitchen, fetching various dips and stuff to stick in them, and he was just setting them on an honest-to-god tray that James had pulled from somewhere (probably his parents’ house) when the buzzer went, loud and ominous.

“I’ll get it!” he heard Peter shout.

James perked up, glancing into the microwave door and ruffling his hair. Sirius rolled his eyes and went to get a beer from the fridge.

“Alright, they’re coming,” Peter said, entering the room and stealing a crisp.

All too soon, a knock came from the door. James hurried over, fixing his hair again, and took a deep breath before opening up.

“Hi, Lupin, Lily! Oh, _hi_ , kiddo!”

“ _Kiddo_?” Sirius mouthed to Peter, who shrugged.

“Hope you don’t mind… I grabbed this on the way,” Lupin was saying, and Lily was smiling at James. Sirius craned his neck to see what James was looking at, but his best friend was blocking his view.

“Ah mate, that’s so good of you, cheers! Well, come on in, no worries about shoes. Do you want me to take him?” James asked excitedly.

“Sure.”

“Hey, Sirius, Peter, come on through!”

Curious, Sirius left his beer and stepped through to the living room, Peter following close behind. James turned around and Sirius’ brain short-circuited.

He was holding a _baby_. An actual tiny human. With tiny fists and a tiny face that was currently giggling at James’ stupid expression.

“That yours?” was all that came out of Sirius’ mouth.

Lily snorted, and Lupin raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, ‘that’ happens to be my son. Teddy.”

“Teddy,” Sirius repeated. “He’s – he’s really cute.”

Lupin looked a little surprised, and he smiled a little. “He is, yeah.”

“Of course he is! Aren’t you the best?” James said, cooing at Teddy. Peter looked taken aback, and he kept looking from Teddy to Sirius and back, as if he couldn’t quite grasp the concept. Lily was grinning, and Lupin was looking at Sirius, as if he were looking at him properly for the first time.

“You want to hold him?” he asked.

“I – me?”

“Yeah,” Lupin said, with a slightly too-casual shrug, “’s long as it’s on the couch.”

“Okay,” Sirius said, surprising himself. He crossed the room to sit on the couch, and James made his way over, cradling a quiet Teddy. He held his hands out, and James gently put the baby in Sirius’ arms. Teddy didn’t seem to mind. He just looked at Sirius, with the same brown eyes as his dad, but much less of a harsh glare. Sirius stuck his tongue out, and Teddy let out a loud giggle. So he did it again, and again, laughing along with him. The others had taken their seats on the couch by then, and Lupin was somehow sat right next to him, probably to make sure Sirius didn’t inadvertently kill the kid. He handed him back Teddy after a minute, and Lupin actually smiled at him, before looking back down at his son and busying himself with him.

Lily and Lupin turned out to be less awkward than he thought; Lily was a right laugh, and had everyone in stitches over her stories. Lupin was quieter, but still sharp as anything, dealing one-liners occasionally so devastating even Sirius was impressed. They loved the food, although Sirius could tell off the bat that Lupin wasn’t made for spice – he kept having to blink very hard whenever he bit into something that Sirius would still consider mild. Teddy was the centre of attention, though. Everyone wanted to hold him, especially James, who was spookily good with him. Sirius didn’t ask to again; he didn’t want to push it.

When Teddy went down for a nap, supported by two cushions either side of him, things were just the same, only with a little more alcohol involved. James cracked open the wine Lupin had brought, and Sirius finally retrieved his now warm beer from the kitchen. Lupin didn’t drink, but Lily accepted a glass, toasting James, who ducked his head and had to clear his throat several times before he was able to properly form a sentence. They all grew a little more raucous as time went on, Lupin coming out of his shell a little more and actually laughing sometimes. Neither he nor Sirius ever actually talked to each other, but they sat slightly more easily next to each other. Sirius, three beers deep, found himself glancing at Lupin more often than not, actually taking him in for the first time.

He was, unfortunately, attractive. If he had a list, Lupin would be ticking all the boxes; curly hair, freckles, an _accent_ , and a voice that belonged in his bed. Fortunately, he had been enough of an arse up until then that Sirius had been able to ignore all that.

Now, with the addition of his _laugh_ into the mix, Sirius was starting to see some danger signs. Namely, he was fast approaching the level of tipsy where he’d flirt with anyone and anything; James upheld his story that Sirius had attempted to seduce a lampshade once, which Sirius vehemently denied, but judging by his hazy memory of that night, it was probably true.

Luckily for him, there was something to distract Sirius from contemplating anything. James and Lily were deep in conversation about something, and James had moved to sit on the coffee table in front of her to hear her better. Sirius watched them with a smile on his face. It wasn’t often that James showed a genuine interest in someone; he wasn’t prone to bringing home people like Sirius used to (after a few accidental interruptions, Sirius tended to go back to the other guy’s house), and when he did date, he fell hard and fast. Sirius hoped that Lily would be gentle with his overgrown puppy of a best friend, even if they didn’t end up working out.

It came to about half eleven when conversation started to die down; Lupin kept looking at Teddy, who was still fast asleep, and Peter chose that moment to announce his own departure. That left the four of them, and without Peter there as his buffer, Sirius had no choice but to attempt to talk to Lupin, since James and Lily were busy sharing childhood stories or something equally as soft and disgusting.

“So, why Teddy?”

Lupin’s head jerked up from the back of the sofa. “What?”

“I said, why Teddy? A family name, or…?”

“Oh.” His brow was furrowed, and he was studying Sirius again. “Um, after my ex’s dad, actually. Ted. Great bloke.”

The ex was piquing his interest. “Did she choose it?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t exactly fussed about names,” Lupin said, looking away. “More panicked about being a dad.”

“Panicked?”

Lupin’s face froze, and rearranged itself back into an indifferent mask. “Just – nerves, y’know. Nothing I couldn’t handle now. Obviously.”

“Right…”

He stood up, drawing Lily and James’ attention. “Hey, Lils, think I might have to get Ted home. I’ll take the keys if you wanna stay, just text when you're on your way.”

Lily smiled apologetically at James. “Nah, ‘s alright. Got a shift tomorrow anyway – should probably get some kip.” She stood as well, and Lupin scooped up his sleeping son.

James was the perfect host, as always, offering the leftovers to them (that belonged to _Sirius_ ; it was their unspoken rule), and inviting them around again, which they both readily accepted.

Great.

* * *

“So, that wasn’t too bad, was it?”

Remus didn’t answer for a moment, busying himself with bundling Teddy back up without waking him.

The truth was, it _had_ been great. Despite Black’s obvious distaste, James and Peter were nice to them both, and had plenty of questions for Remus that weren’t just about Teddy, even if he could talk for days about his son. Teddy himself had been an angel, obviously. Something was unsettling him, and he didn’t quite know what.

“Yeah, it was pretty good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos appreciated, and thank you for everyone who's left one y'all make me smile :))))


	7. Let's Spend the Night Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya! sorry, this one took a while to be happy with lmao, and i needed help from a friend to write some of it
> 
> warning here: there's smut ahead, thank u to mssrmoony otherwise this wouldn't have been done
> 
> anyway, enjoy!

So, that was generally how it continued for the next month; Remus would tutor James every Thursday, sometimes with Black there, sometimes not. On Fridays, James would invite him and Lily round, and they would usually accept.

Towards the end of January, Tonks came to collect Teddy for her two weeks with him, as they had agreed when he was born. She was let in by Lily to the sound of a screaming Teddy and a slightly frazzled Remus trying to pack his bag and calm him at the same time.

“Hey, Remus,” she called from the door, and Remus sighed in relief.

“Hiya, Tonks, through here!”

She came through and immediately scooped up Teddy, kissing his forehead. “Hello, trouble! What’s the screeching for, huh?”

He stopped crying almost straight away, giggling as Tonks threw him up in the air and caught him. Remus felt himself physically relax, and he grinned at them both. Tonks really was a good person, and he had loved and still loved her dearly. He just wished their relationship had ended better than it had done. He shook off the memories and continued folding a shirt.

“He’s missed you tons.”

“Really? To be fair, I _am_ the fun one.” Remus flipped her off, and she laughed, readjusting Teddy on her hip. “But he’ll need a balance. Blue hair and corduroy are a good mix, right?”

“God, I hope he’s more fashionable than me.”

“Hope he gets your book smarts, though. How’s tutoring going? Lily said you were up to your neck in it, as usual.” Tonks fixed him with a look, and Remus groaned.

“I’m _fine_ , Tonks.”

“Bullshit, Lupin. Y’know, Mum and Dad wouldn’t mind –”

“No!” The word spilled out of his mouth.

Tonks frowned, and squatted next to him, placing Teddy down onto his mat, where he began to roll around and babble to himself quietly. “Remus, you work six days a week, and you barely have time for yourself. I wouldn’t ever stop you from seeing him, you pillock, I’m just saying it could be easier on you.”

“I want to keep doing what we’re doing now,” Remus insisted.

“Stubborn as a fucking ox, you are, Rem,” Tonks said, ruffling his hair fondly. “Offer’s open at any time, y’know.”

Remus just nodded, looking at Teddy instead of at her. “How’s the apprenticeship going?”

She perked up. “Great! I think the officers like me a lot, and they reckon I could be a full member of the force within the next couple years. Just have to work on not tripping over everything all the time,” she said, with a rueful grin.

“Knowing you, that’s next to impossible.”

She laughed again. “Probably. We’ll see.”

“You want to stay for a cuppa?”

“Nah, it’s okay,” she replied, stretching upwards, “Mum’s expecting us home for dinner, she delayed Sunday lunch for this. But we’ll catch up soon, yeah?”

“Alright.” Remus picked up Teddy and his bag, and hugged his son. “Be good for Mum, okay? No stomping on her CDs. Oh, wait, you’ll need this,” he said to Tonks, crouching and reaching under the bed for a chewed-up zebra that had ended up there after Teddy’s tantrum. “He’ll be screaming all night if he doesn’t have it.”

“Noted.”

There was always a hole in Remus’ heart whenever Teddy left. As soon as the door closed on Tonks, he sat heavily on the couch, trying to ignore the tightness in his throat and his vision becoming watery. Lily silently handed him a cup of tea, and stayed in the room with him, working on her appraisal. They didn’t talk, and he was grateful to her for that.

The rest of the afternoon passed slowly, and even though Remus managed to sleep all the way through the night, he still felt odd waking up without his usual loud alarm call. He suddenly had far more free time than he was used to, so by six the next day, he had finished all the work he had due for the next week, and was at rather a loose end. He’d finished tutoring early, didn’t have a lecture until tomorrow afternoon, and Lily was working an evening shift, as usual. He toyed with the idea of going out, maybe somewhere he might actually meet someone new, finally expanding his circle beyond his flatmate and his son. And James, he supposed. There were usually a bunch of people in the university union, and if not, Edinburgh was a huge city.

Suddenly, there was a wave of confidence that hit him, something that hadn’t happened since his first year of university. Why shouldn’t he go out? He was twenty, for God’s sake, he deserved at least a little fun. A patterned shirt even found its way onto his body; granted, it was one of ten shirts that he owned, but he usually only ever got it out for special occasions, so he figured it would be alright.

Although it felt odd not doing his usual baby-check five minutes before leaving, Remus couldn’t help but feel a little freer as he walked out that evening, nothing but his keys, phone and wallet in his pockets. Since Teddy had been born, he’d never really taken much time for himself; everything revolved around his son, though he never minded it much. Tonks obviously had him for half a month, but Remus usually spent those two weeks worrying himself into a near mental breakdown, then burying himself in extra work. This was the first time he felt – relaxed. Teddy was safe; Andromeda and Ted were two of the nicest people he’d ever met, and he trusted them completely, even if they didn’t particularly like him. There were no overhanging deadlines, and it was a clear night for once. Remus tipped his head back, enjoying the cold air on his face. The wind wasn’t too biting, and it refreshed him, blowing away all the residual cobwebs from the past few weeks.

He didn’t think he’d know anyone in the bar he went to; it was fairly out of the way, a hidey-hole he’d discovered when he first moved to the city. It was where he and Lily would spend their Saturday nights sometimes, if they weren’t too exhausted. On a Wednesday night, Remus really wasn’t expecting much of a crowd; the good performers usually came on the weekends, when the tips would be good.

He walked in to the sound of soft piano, and a sparsely populated bar. The bartender knew him, and made up his order as he sat down; the cheapest lager they had, and a little bowl of olives.

“The olives are new,” the bartender, Frank, remarked.

Remus shrugged, taking a swig of beer. “Payday.”

Frank chuckled. “Fair enough. Little things in life, eh?”

He nodded, smiling around his glass. “Say, who’s playing tonight?”

“I don’t know. Real pretty bloke, though; Alice would probably be sighing over him,” Frank said, smiling fondly. He and Alice had got married last year, she often came into the bar to help out after her shifts at the hospital. She had actually been the one to introduce Lily to Remus, so he owed her an unpayable debt for that.

“Must be gorgeous, then. She’s got high standards, after all.” Remus winked, getting a swat from Frank’s tea towel.

“Cheeky bugger, you are. Seems like your type, actually; he’s a smartarse too. Asked for my number with a pickup line involving his Jaegerbomb.”

“Yeah? Might introduce myself, then.” He looked across the dimly lit bar, just managing to make out long, dark hair tied up in a bun. The guy was playing something Remus had heard before, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it; something soft, but with enough rhythm to not be boring. His head was nodding along to the music, and Remus thought he could hear snatched words of half-sung words coming from the corner. Turning back to the bar, Remus returned to his drink; Frank had moved down to serve someone else, and so he took a moment to just enjoy the moment surrounding him. The music drifted through the air, and the gentle buzzing of conversation filled his ears.

“Hi,” a voice said from his right.

Remus turned, and a man was stood there, smiling at him. He was tall, taller than Remus, and had his hair up in a braided bun. He gestured to the seat next to Remus, and after receiving a nod, sat down next to him. “Name’s Beau.”

“Remus.”

“Nice name. Very mythical,” Beau said, taking a sip of his own beer.

“My parents were having a Roman phase, I think. And yours…. French?”

Beau laughed. “How could you tell?”

Remus gave a small grin in return, looking him over. “The accent. Always been a sucker for ‘em.”

“Oh, really? My lucky day.” Beau’s voice had dropped slightly, face a little more knowing.

“Mm. Suppose it might be,” Remus said, feeling his own voice lower. “What are you doing out here, then?”

“Could ask you the same thing.”

“Oh, I’m out to meet the love of my life, clearly.” Beau laughed again, leaning a little closer to Remus. It felt familiar and foreign at the same time; the last guy he’d seen had been over two years ago, now.

“Don’t think you’ll find them here, somehow,” he answered, looking theatrically at their surroundings. “Unless you’re into guys who’ll tell you how much the beer here can’t possibly compare to their home brewed shit.”

“Damn, there goes my next topic of conversation.” Remus felt himself relax more and more with every quip they exchanged. It was easy to let the words fall from his mouth, and the alcohol was only half of that. “Should’ve brought a keg of my own.”

“Glad you didn’t, would’ve turned me right off.”

“Oh, and we couldn’t have that.”

“No, not particularly a beer person,” Beau said, gesturing to his wine glass. “Although,” he screwed up his face a little as he drank, “this is rather close to it.”

“Not going to finish your glass, then?”

“Well, seems a shame to waste it.” Beau contemplated his glass. “But, I do have a bottle of wine on hand, if that piques your interest.” He bit his lip, and Remus considered. This was something he hadn’t done for a _long_ time. He never had any time for dating, and there was always something at home that needed to be done, and he would be home late, and –

 _And you deserve some fun,_ a voice piped up. _God knows you need it._

He looked at Beau again. He knew virtually nothing about him, except that he was French, and hot.

“How about this?” Remus leaned in. “Finish your drink, tell me a bit about yourself. I’ll take you up on that wine back at yours later.”

Beau smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

* * *

Remus now knew that Beau was a university graduate in History, interested in art, especially modern, and a _damn_ good shag. Remus usually preferred to top, but he had to admit, a good hard fuck had been exactly what he’d needed. He lay in Beau’s decently-sized bed later that night, the man himself still breathing heavily, kissing up Remus’ neck, grinning when Remus arched his back and groaned when Beau’s teeth grazed his pulse point.

“Well, that was fun,” Beau murmured, rolling off him. Remus stretched out, hearing the joints in his shoulders crack, not missing the appreciative gaze sent his way.

“Mm, it was. The wine was a nice touch; I feel so wooed.”

Beau laughed. “Hope you’re not expecting the same treatment tomorrow; my flatmate won’t be best pleased to find a stranger in the kitchen.”

“No, I suppose not. I should probably get going, if that’s the case,” Remus replied, grinning. He began to sit up and reach for his boxers, which had been thrown unceremoniously to the side of the bed, but was stopped by a hand on his chest.

“How about one more, for the road?” Beau asked, his voice pitched low; he shifted to straddle Remus’ hips, eyes sparking when Remus’ hands began to skate his sides.

Remus cocked an eyebrow. “Keep talking.”

Beau smirked. “Wasn’t really –” he moved to kiss down Remus’ chest, “thinking about talking.”

“Yeah? You – _oh_ , oh fuck.” Beau’s mouth had gone lower, and suddenly Remus wasn’t saying anything anymore; not that he could have, with his bottom lip worried between teeth as he tried not to whimper at the new, warm pressure. His hips thrust up instinctually, and Beau moaned around him, one hand gripping Remus’ hip and the other reaching up to flick a thumb over Remus’ nipple. Remus fisted his hands in Beau’s hair, winding his fingers in tightly. Beau let out another groan, and Remus surprised himself by moaning in response. Before long, Beau was pulling back and sucking gently on the head of his cock and Remus’ willpower failed entirely. After an experimental thrust which Beau received with an complying moan, Remus took back control and began to grind his hips upwards, fucking into Beau’s mouth. Less than a minute had passed before Remus felt his whole body go taut, a broken cry escaping him as he came, grinning faintly and pressing his head back into the pillow when Beau swallowed around him.

“You,” Remus murmured, still catching his breath, pulling on Beau’s hair, “are very good at that. Here, c’mere.”

Remus motioned for Beau to join him at the head of the bed, before roughly flipping them over, kissing Beau deeply as he reached a hand down to reciprocate. Moments later, Beau was whimpering his name into the crook of his shoulder, and Remus twisted his wrist slightly, eliciting a shuddering gasp and a groan of his name. 

* * *

He made it back to the flat at around one. Letting himself in the building quietly, he was surprised to see a light on through the glass panel in the top of the door. Maybe Lily had left it on when she went to bed. He walked in, and was greeted to the sight of James Potter curled up on his couch, with his head in Lily’s lap. She grinned at him, making a shushing gesture, and he quickly took off his shoes to go over to her.

“What’s he doing here?” he mouthed.

“Said he was lonely. Think he said something about Sirius being at a ‘boring hipster bar’,” Lily said, equally as quiet.

“Huh. Didn’t think he’d be the type.”

“James says it’s largely a symbol of rebellion.” Remus rolled his eyes, and Lily stifled a laugh.

“Against who? All of them are middle class and up anyway, and usually all his sort of prickishness.”

Lily just raised an eyebrow. “Speaking of, nice hickey.”

“What? I – oh, shit.” He glanced in the mirror on the wall, and was greeted with the sight of his neck completely free of marks, and Lily quietly dying of laughter behind him. “You bastard.”

“Well, was I wrong to assume?”

Remus ducked his head, grinning abashedly. “No, guess not.”

“Was he nice?”

“Wooed me with actual brand wine.”

Lily looked suitably impressed. “Wish my dates were as generous.”

Remus decided not to gesture to James and say _well, he would be,_ and instead settled for “Don’t settle for anything less than Waitrose,” as he started backing towards his bedroom.

Lily smirked. “Of course not.”

“Good luck moving him,” Remus said as he opened the door, “he looks like deadweight right now.”

“I’ll manage. ‘Night, Remus.”

“’Night, Lils.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated!


	8. What Do I Get?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! god i'm so sorry for the wait, i've been working on my own stuff recently and the last few weeks of august have been crazy 
> 
> but i'm back now! this chapter is a bit shorter, i'm trying to get back into the swing of things again, but don't worry, i'm working on getting another longer chapter out soon :)

Much as he hated to admit it, Remus was almost too busy over the next two weeks to think about his son during the day. Of course, when he finally collapsed into bed every night, it was only natural that he lay awake, wondering how he was getting on. He knew that around six months, Teddy would be starting to learn how to crawl; he’d not had much success so far with trying to coax his son to do it, and a jealous, slightly shameful side of him hoped that Teddy would crawl first with him, maybe so that he could prove something to Tonks’ parents.

Lily had gone out, so there was no one for him to talk about this to, so he settled for mutinously drinking a cup of tea and staring blankly into space. Sometimes he wished they could afford a TV, just so he wasn’t left alone with his thoughts at times like these. He usually read a book, but for some reason none of his usual favourites were helping, not even Wilde. Fridays were usually the days he looked forward to the most, but the expanse of hours that lay before him failed to excite Remus at all. He had texted Lily to ask what she wanted for dinner and received a very vague answer that implied she wouldn’t be home, so he was out of friends to hang out with.

He even toyed with the idea of texting James; a short laugh escaped him when he thought of how it would be received by Black if he turned up to hang out with his best friend.

His tea was cold. Sighing slightly, he got up to dump it out in the sink when his phone buzzed. He supposed it was jst from one of the students he tutored, so he continued on with refilling his mug, not particularly wanting to talk to anyone at that moment.

It wasn’t from a student. The text was from an unfamiliar number, and frowning, Remus opened it.

_James is busy and won’t be here, but he asked me to invite you round tonight anyway_

Then, almost as an afterthought:

_This is Sirius, by the way_

It didn’t seem to Remus that Black was overjoyed about asking him. He was almost tempted to not answer and turn up anyway, but he thought that might be a little impolite, and he certainly couldn’t afford to upset James, even if the guy seemed relatively easy-going.

He started to type out an answer to accept the invite, when he stopped. James wouldn’t be there. That meant a night with Peter and Black, and much as he got along with Peter last time, he had been very twitchy, and had usually just agreed with whatever Black or James said. Remus found it difficult to find a subject that Peter had his own opinions about; he didn’t read, he didn’t play a sport, and his only pastime appeared to be rewatching _Reservoir Dogs_ and waxing poetic about Quentin Tarantino. Remus didn’t particularly have an opinion on Tarantino, but there were only so many times he could hum in agreement over how ‘fucking perky’ Uma Thurman’s breasts were before he felt like that would be all he’d see in his nightmares.

Black, on the other hand, seemed bright, loudly debating with James or Peter about anything that came into his head. It was just the slight sneer he always had, and his way of making Remus feel excluded even when sitting right next to him that put Remus right off wanting to spend time with him. Without James to take his edge off, Black felt like the kind of person to look down on someone for any small slight against himself, and Remus was completely not in the mood for it that day.

So instead, he typed out _Can’t come this week, tell James thanks for thinking of me though._

Black didn’t respond after that, and Remus could only imagine him punching the air in glee. Whatever; he’d get started on some extra work instead.

* * *

Sirius sighed in defeat, flinging his phone down on the bed next to him. Guess that’s what he got for trying to be nice; a cold brushing off. Whatever; they’d stockpiled the alcohol for tonight, and seeing as James wouldn’t be back until late, muttering some excuse about studying with someone in the library as he slunk out, Sirius could have all the fun he wanted.

Fucking Lupin. Trust him to show up to the goddamned bar that Sirius was _sure_ that only he knew about; it was out of the way, and not really frequented by university students. Hell, Alice and Frank were the youngest people there most nights. It wasn't somewhere that Sirius would picture himself, and yet, the more he thought about it, it was _exactly_ the type of place he could picture Lupin. And trust Sirius to recognise him, work up the courage (and the alcohol) to approach him with an attempted casual greeting, only for him to look up and see Lupin leaving with some tall, dark and _gorgeous_ bloke. Something had sat heavy in his chest, and he chose to drink a hell of a lot more beer than examine that feeling at all.

He hadn’t even meant to see Lupin that night; Alice had called and asked if he was interested in playing the bar, since their usual one cancelled last minute. So, because he could never say no to Alice, he went, spending an hour beforehand trying to remember how to play some songs on the battered piano in the corner of his room. He really wished he’d at least practised a little in recent years; the piano had been both one of the first things he’d ditched at university and also one of the only things he’d really enjoyed back home. Now he could pick it back up again, he supposed; it was another method of procrastination that was probably more useful than the entire afternoon he spent last week trying to learn the basics of Esperanto.

Although, any attempt to do anything was met with the vague feeling of going stir crazy. He hadn’t left the flat in two days, telling himself a lock in would make him do his university work. Of course, it hadn’t worked. Instead of sitting and counting the seconds ticking past, he grabbed his tools from under his bed and made his way out of the flat, to the garage round the side of the house that he’d negotiated with the ground-floor tenants to use a small corner of, using it as his private workspace. When he wasn’t ignoring law coursework, he usually went down to work on the bike, choosing to not hear James’ complaints of ‘ _for god’s sake, Sirius, you pay more attention to that bike than you did your ex’._ Which wasn’t incorrect, if he was being honest.

The Sportster gleamed, and really didn’t need any work done on it, but Sirius got out a rag and polish anyway, and sat on the floor on front of it. It was an undemanding activity, and his hands knew every part that needed attention, so he could sit and let his mind wander, as it often did, to daydreaming about his life after university. He’d already planned out his whole life; he’d leave university with his barely worked-for degree, take his bike and spend a year going around Europe with James. Money was no issue; once he was twenty-one he’d be free of his family and rolling in his great-uncle’s fortune, so he didn’t even need the degree, really.

Often, he dreamed about running away from it all; smashing his laptop, moving house, leaving university. He knew he couldn’t, really, but it was a nice thought to have, especially after any particularly cold phone call from his darling mother.

He was in the middle of a rather pleasant daydream about trashing his father’s study, when his phone buzzed.

_Make sure you buy milk, ran out this morning_

**_Why can’t you do it? You’re the one that’s out_ **

_Sorry mate, don’t have the time :)_

Sirius frowned. James, for all his good intentions this year, wasn’t exactly the most studious person; he’d much rather be out on the pitch and winging his schoolwork, something that he and Sirius had become exceedingly good at back in school. Some things James had been doing recently weren’t really adding up, either; going out late in the evening to ‘go to the library’ or a ‘rugby meeting’, returning all too pleased with himself, and keeping his phone on him at all times.

Sirius knew from personal experience that James Potter rarely answered his phone, and that was because James Potter rarely had his phone anywhere near him; he’d once left it at his parents’ house after a trip home, and no one had been able to get hold of him for three days. Sirius had acted as his personal secretary, and from then on, Sirius always called out ‘phone!’ whenever James left anywhere. It worked, about eighty percent of the time anyway.

So something was up. Something was suspicious about James, and Sirius decided that he was going to devote all his brainpower to figuring out exactly what it was.

Later, though. There was a party to host that night, and Esperanto to learn. Besides, there was the tiniest squeaking noise coming from the Sportster, so that was the rest of the afternoon gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments always appreciated :)


End file.
